How to celebrate a book release

Rarity is out tomorrow.  I am excited and nervous about the release but it is also very surreal. What am I supposed to feel? How do you launch a book?

I had previously self-published 4 books with the help of Createspace.com and some friends.  They all received decent reviews (4 1/2 stars on average) but I wasn't sure how else to market the books and get more eyes on them. I was then approached by a UK publisher who was interested in my books. I don't think we were the ideal fit for each other,but it did get me thinking more about traditional publishing.  This led me to looking into publishers and sending my MS (Manuscript) to Limitless Publishing.  They had many authors within the same genres as myself, the covers were amazing, the reviews were excellent...sounded like it was worth trying.

Rarity was accepted within the week and I signed the contract to begin this new adventure in life.  So far, it has been a very cool journey.  Working with the Limitless Team has helped me polish the book and put an amazing cover on it.  I also have met some kind authors who have wise advice and are so incredibly supportive.

So what am I supposed to feel?
Honestly, I'm all over the place.  My family is pretty mellow so there are no fanfares or fireworks. But it IS an accomplishment.  So I made plans to meet with a dear friend I met online a year ago. Tomorrow we will meet, face to face, for the first time ever and enjoy some vietnamese food.  She is an amazing artist and a fun and kind soul.  

I want this book to do well.  I want it to succeed for my vEDS family and for my own personal future.  I'd love to continue writing for Limitless but Rarity has to do well if they are going to consider future books.  I struggle with believing in myself and this whole journey has been like me standing at the top of a high dive, telling my petrified self "JUMP! Tamp down those fears." And my inner self saying "Yeah right - too scared."  One day I'll realize that I took the leap, survived and want to do it again and again.


How do I launch a book?
Well, there are many ways to do this.  I recently went to an author release party on facebook for Tressa Messenger.  I had never heard of this style of party before but it Was very fun.  She had several author friends take over 1/2 hr time slots on her facebook page.  In that half hour you could talk about your own book as well as give fun facts about the author or her book, and host a game (like How Many Words Can You Make with the Letters in D.A. Roach?)  The winner would then earn a small prize such as a $10 gift card to amazon.com or some other small gift of that authors choosing.

But for my release, I opted for 2 blog tours and a release day blitz.  The release day blitz is where bloggers post info about my book and links for where readers can purchase it.  The blog tours are where bloggers that sign up for the tour get an advanced copy of the book (also known as an arc) for free and post a review of the book on their blog.  Hopefully I'm doing enough to launch it and hopefully it is well received by the public.

Wish me luck, it goes live in less than 2 hours!